11–20 of 35 posts
“Brazilian superstar Neymar's brain activity while dancing past opponents is less than 10 percent the level of amateur players, suggesting he plays as if on auto-pilot, according to Japanese neurologists.”
Because I find the title gives no indication what to expect, the author is David Foster Wallace, and here's the first paragraph: > Because I am a long-time rabid fan of tennis in general and Tracy Austin in particular, I've rarely looked forward to reading a sports memoir the way I looked forward to Ms. Austin's Beyond Center Court: My Story , ghosted by Christine Brennan and published by Morrow. This is a type of ma…
> it's hard to imagine a writer who writes more for himself than DFW I don't think this is entirely true. He understands his job, as he'll admit in the middle of some essays. Consider one of his more famous essays, "Consider the Lobster": At one point: > I should add that it appears to me unlikely that many readers of Gourmet wish to think about it, either, or to be queried about the morality of their eating habits i…
As on a simple thing such as a luxury cruise in "A supposedly fun thing I'll never do again":
"They’ll make certain of it. They’ll micromanage every iota of every pleasure-option so that not even the dreadful corrosive action of your adult consciousness and agency and dread can fuck up your fun. Your troublesome capacities for choice, error, regret, dissatisfaction, and despair will be removed from the equation. You will be able – finally, for once – to relax, the ads promise, because you will have no choice."
http://archive.harpers.org/1996/01/pdf/HarpersMagazine-1996-...
Here is some data to support the assertion that nothing is going through their head during their performance: https://sports.ndtv.com/football/neymar-s-brain-on-auto-pilo... “Brazilian superstar Neymar's brain activity while dancing past opponents is less than 10 percent the level of amateur players, suggesting he plays as if on auto-pilot, according to Japanese neurologists.”
why is this on hackernews? its just a popular author complaining about a book he didn't like, co-written by a sports person he did like. Who cares? Certainly it's not tech related news.
why is this on hackernews? its just a popular author complaining about a book he didn't like, co-written by a sports person he did like. Who cares? Certainly it's not tech related news.
Thanks for submitting this. I’ve read a few athletes’ autobiographies and was always let down by the banality of the prose and the lack of insight. A good example is Lynn Hill’s “Climbing Free: My Life In The Vertical World”. Even the title is dull. Lynn Hill is surely one of the most extraordinary athletes to ever live, and yet her book reads like ghost-written ad copy. DFW’s conclusion at the end of this piece offe…
Wolownick's book might be my favorite climbing memoir. Wolownick is Alex Honnold's mother, but she's not cashing in on his success; this is her own story about finally embracing her own life after years of self-sacrifice in an unhappy marriage. She is a writer first and foremost, and she tells a beautiful story about life. The climbing scenes are gripping and relatable because she is such an ordinary person--which makes her accomplishments all the more extraordinary.
Thanks for submitting this. I’ve read a few athletes’ autobiographies and was always let down by the banality of the prose and the lack of insight. A good example is Lynn Hill’s “Climbing Free: My Life In The Vertical World”. Even the title is dull. Lynn Hill is surely one of the most extraordinary athletes to ever live, and yet her book reads like ghost-written ad copy. DFW’s conclusion at the end of this piece offe…
If you're looking for good climbing autobiographies, try Tommy Caldwell's "Push" or Dierdre Wolownick's "The Sharp End of Life." Caldwell's book is well-written and shows deep insight, perhaps due to the severe hardship he experienced. If you liked "The Dawn Wall" (one of my favorite films), you'll like the book. Wolownick's book might be my favorite climbing memoir. Wolownick is Alex Honnold's mother, but she's not…
why is this on hackernews? its just a popular author complaining about a book he didn't like, co-written by a sports person he did like. Who cares? Certainly it's not tech related news.
Know how I can tell you didn't finish it?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
But DFW writes for himself by doing what he's demanding : exposing his consciousness, his self-commentary, his inner life. Also, that line ("The author's primary allegiance seems to be to her family and friends") is unequivocally ironic. "Seems to be"? As though it's a surprise? DFW knew what he was doing. If anything the line is an indictment of his (and our) indignation at not getting access to Austin's consciousne…
> Also, that line ("The author's primary allegiance seems to be to her family and friends") is unequivocally ironic. "Seems to be"? As though it's a surprise? DFW knew what he was doing. If anything the line is an indictment of his (and our) indignation at not getting access to Austin's consciousness and lived experience for the cost of a paperback. I'm sure that there is some of the subtext you mention in it—this be…
... in fact, much of the tone of writing on the early and mid-period Web was pretty similar, including some that was among the most well-known, and strong backlash against that in favor of gentler writing has only come in the last decade or so. Simply common and normal, hardly meriting comment, then. Perhaps humanity has recently experienced a great moral leap forward.